See you in my dreams
by samanddianefan10
Summary: A continuation to Iloveromance's story Folding Laundry. Niles and Daphne test the limits of their feelings for each other, and they come to a new understanding of one another.


**This is a sequel to Iloveromance's Folding Laundry. Inspiration hit as soon as I finished reading it. I hope you like it Andrea.**

So as Niles kissed Daphne all sorts of thoughts flooded his mind. He knew what he was feeling was wrong, he should not desire another woman when he was still a married man, but this was Daphne. Daphne! How many years had he waited for this moment, and now he was kissing her like he had never kissed another woman before. The question was, for him, how far was he willing to let things go? Was he willing to throw down his morals and ethics for a few minutes- hours -days- of unbridled bliss?

"Oh, Daphne," he muttered as his hands began to boldly roam her back. "You have no idea how much I've wanted this... how much I've longed for you."

"Niles," she simply smiled as she pulled in a little closer to him.

Was this real? Was Niles dreaming, or was he really in Daphne's room? True, he'd sneaked in there a few times over the years, but never once had he been invited, until recently. They'd shared a few moments together in the room, but not like this. This was raw, this was real, and it had been all he'd ever dreamed about for the longest time.

He tried to pull back, but he found that as usual, his body was working against his mind. Feelings of guilt and doubt were slowly being replaced by more vivid feelings, ones in which awoke parts of him that he never knew existed. He'd only thought he'd been in love with others before Daphne, but as of that moment, he knew that she was the only one he would ever give his heart to for the rest of his life.

"Oh, Daphne," he practically choked on her name. The intensity was growing between them, it was almost too much for him to handle, but oh, how he needed this moment! Forget about ethical dilemmas, he was with Daphne, and that was all he needed at the moment.

"Niles..." she whispered as she slowly started to pull away.

"Oh no, Daphne, don't go. Stay. You have no idea..." he tried to steal in a few more kisses, but Daphne wasn't having any of it. She finally broke free from his embrace and then tried to catch her breath.

"I'm sorry, Niles. I just can't...I can't..." she managed to say in between breaths.

"Was it something I did? I can be better, I promise."

"I don't need your promises, not until you fulfill the one you made to me not so long ago."

Niles tried to pull himself together. "Okay," he managed to say despite his bitter disappointment. He knew that he would respect Daphne even more the next morning, but for tonight, he hated himself. He knew exactly which promise he'd made to her- to break free from Mel's foothold over him.

So he surprised them both by reaching into his jacket pocket and pulled out his cell phone.

"Why am I calling you? You sound surprised. Can't a man call his own wife," he sputtered bitterly. Daphne hated hearing him call Mel his wife, but she was curious as to see what was about to happen.

"Yes, Darling," he spat out sarcastically. "I know this may come as an inconvenience to you, but do you know what? I don't care. I don't care anymore."

"What has gotten into me? I'm a new man. I love Daphne, and I don't care who knows it. I also know that you know it, and that's why you're dragging out this divorce. But I told you- I don't care anymore. Expect to hear from my attorney in the morning."

With that he quickly but furiously closed his cell phone, and then looked at Daphne.

"What's wrong? I thought you would be happy?"

"Oh, I don't know what I'm feeling."

"I know this relationship hasn't started out on the strongest foundation, but it's important to me that we begin our lives together based on trust. Do you trust me enough to tell me what's bothering you?"

She closed her eyes for a minute, then to his surprise she called out his name once more. "Niles- it's you. You're what's bothering me."

He was shocked. He thought she would have been delighted for him to tell Mel off, but now that he had, she didn't seem so happy. What could be going wrong?

"I'm afraid I don't understand..."

"Nothing. Forget I said anything."

"Please, Daphne," he said as seriously as he could. "I can't change anything unless I know how you feel. Your feelings are extremely important to me...please trust me enough to tell me what's going on."

"Okay. I will. I'm happy that you asked for the divorce, but the timing just...well it bothers me a bit. I'd be lying if I said I weren't suspicious of your motives."

Niles' eyes grew wide when he realized what she'd meant. "You think I did that, just so I can take advantage of you?"

"Oh, no, that's not what I meant. I'm so sorry. I don't want to fight. Please forget I said anything," she looked away from him.

"I promise you this...I would never want to do anything until the time is right. And your feelings are important to me. I just never realized...I mean, I always knew that I loved you, but I never realized how much I stood to lose until this moment. I can lose my practice, my hair, my money. But there is just one thing I could not stand to lose- and that is you."

She sighed in relief. She did believe him when she said that he loved her, but now, even more than the divorce (though that was extremely important), she knew he more than loved her. He respected her, and that wasn't something she was used to feeling from her dates. But now, in her heart, Daphne knew that Niles would be more than just a date. She was having a psychic flash, she saw herself standing at the altar. And for the first time in her life, she clearly saw the man that she would marry, and as crazy as it seemed, that man was Niles Crane.

"I love you, Niles. I hope you realize that..."

He pulled her in close for one last kiss, at least for the evening. If it were up to him he'd stay here and hold her for the rest of her life. "I am the luckiest man alive, I also hope that you realize that." He kissed her forehead affectionately, and then reluctantly pulled back.

"I suppose...I suppose I should go. I have a lot of work to do in the morning," he sighed, referring to the divorce.

She knew what he meant, and she agreed it was for the best. She kissed him one last time, and after he was gone, she smiled to herself. She knew what had almost happened between them. Just because it hadn't, didn't mean that she couldn't dream about it that night.

"Goodnight, Niles. I'll see you in me dreams," she sighed as she shut the door after him. It was going to be a wonderful night.

The end


End file.
